Celedor Character Generation

[CroakerDogBoy]

Well there's a couple of ways to go on it. Depending on what you are after. I wish I could have gotten that book to you before now. They have templates, that are standard characters from different branches and countries, just tweak them a bit and you have a character.

In the WW2 book there are national disadvantages and advantages. That is the most common to a specific country of origin. That helps figure yourself out a bit as well.

Anyhow, we can work it and tweak it until you get it where you like it. I'm not going to let you go in with a crippled character.

[Celedor]

Should I go stat heavy, or back off from spending 90% of my points there?

[CroakerDogBoy]

The basic template for a rifleman has 11 in everything and is a 50 point character.

For a Commando (75 point character) it's St 11, DX 13, IQ 12, HT 11

You will get the higher points as time goes on. Neat thing is that later in the game when you increase your attributes by using experience points, your skills based on that attribute go up as well. They are not independent of your attribute. I really like that aspect of the system.

You can get a pretty decent skill set for 10 points, without jacking up skills much above their beginning cheap level. Thing is there are a lot of very handy advantages as well.

[CroakerDogBoy]

So what do you see as being the most important attribute for your character concept?

[Celedor]

OK, 11, 11, 12, 11 for my four stats then.

[CroakerDogBoy]

Alright. Common disadvantages for Americans are

Addiction (Tobacco)
Fanaticism (Patriotism)
Intolerance
Sense of Duty(Buddies in the Unit)
Bad Sight
Bad Temper
Bloodlust
Bully
Chummy
Code of Honor
Compulsive Behavior(Binge drinking)
Compulsive Gambling
Compulsive Generosity
Edgy
Greed
Gullibility
Honesty
Impulsivness
Lecherousness
Odious Personal Habits
Overconfidence
Post Combat Shakes
Semi Literacy
Sense of Duty (Service or U.S.)
Social Disease
Social Stigma (minority)
Stubborness
Truthfulness
Weak Will
Laziness
Workaholic

These are the stereotypical U.S. disadvantages. But as you can see there is a lot to work with to model your character. And anything not on the list can be worked in as well. This is just to give examples.

[CroakerDogBoy]

Common advantages for Americans are:

Wealth
Absolute Timing
Acceleration Tolerance
Acute Senses
Charisma
Combat Reflexes
Extra Fatigue
Hard to Kill
Intuition
Less Sleep
Luck
Manual Dexterity
Reputation (medals)
Reputation (good conduct)
Toughness
Versatile

Once more these are the stereotypical advantages.

[Celedor]

Intolerence: Germans
Intolerence: Facists/Socialists/fanatics of all stripes

Would overconfidence or compulsive behavior be better for his "I've got to see it" attitude?

Compulsive Curiosity?

Sense of Duty (Highly loyal to both the US, the Army, and his friends.)

How many points is that?

[CroakerDogBoy]

Is he developing his Intolerances due to the Spanish Civil war?

I am trying to decide whether the Intolerances are to relatively common people he would be expected to deal with, or not so common. I think I see the first one as a 1 point intolerance during the war, and the second one as a 5 point intolerance, since the Germans are enemies to begin with, but he may be called in to work with fanatics.This means that at best you will be cold to a member of that group. At worst you would attack.

Would the French underground, or the Stalin's communists or anybody like that be part of fanatics of all stripes?

As far as 'I gotta see it', meaning if he hears of something interesting he is compelled to go investigate it?

Curious is also a disadvantage.

Curious -5, -10 or -15 points
You are naturally very inquisitive. When you are presented with an interesting item or situation, you must roll vs. IQ (not Will) to avoid examining it, even if you know it will be dangerous. Good roleplayers won’t try to make this roll very often . . .
This is not the curiosity that affects all PCs (“What’s in that cave? Where did the flying saucer come from?”), but the real thing (“What happens if I push this button?”).

You will push buttons, pull levers, open doors, unwrap presents, and generally do everything in your power to investigate any situation with which you aren’t 100% familiar. And, when faced with a real mystery, you simply may not turn your back on it.

You rationalize your curiosity to others who try to talk you out of it. Common Sense won’t help – you know you are taking a risk, but you’re curious anyway!

Extremely Curious: All IQ rolls to avoid overinquisitiveness are made at -2. -10 points.
Insatiably Curious: All IQ rolls to avoid overinquisitiveness are made at -5. -15 points.

Sense of Duty to buddies in the unit is -5
Sense of Duty to the U.S. is -10

Sense of duty means you will never let them go hungry, betray or abandon them if you can help.

[Celedor]

Ideagogues might be better than fanatics. . . He watched socialists and facists in spain preach their moral superiority out of one side of their mouth while ordering atrocities out of the other.

A cold blooded, straight up "I love france, so I will kill any invaders on her soil, and any collaberators" would bother him morally, but not set him off. . .the "We are crushing the unions to ensure the safety of the proletariat" doubletalk would infuriate him. Fanatical patriots he has no problem with (though he might object to them as individuals), but idiological fanaticism he has an irrational distaste for. . .that make any sense?

[Celedor]

The curiosity thing is more the observer in him. . ."Got to see the bomb hit to assess it" "Get down sir" "Got to see it hit" "GET DOWN SIR!"

the guy standing as the plane strafes the street, counting the number of guns per wing, rather than jumping into cover.

[CroakerDogBoy]

The curiosity thing is more the observer in him. . ."Got to see the bomb hit to assess it" "Get down sir" "Got to see it hit" "GET DOWN SIR!"

the guy standing as the plane strafes the street, counting the number of guns per wing, rather than jumping into cover.

So he would be more trying to get all the details right. I would see that as a Compulsive Behavior(attention to detail). Depending on whether he merely insisted on it for himself and his reports or whether he expected the same from his men would give me the point value for it.

[CroakerDogBoy]

Ideagogues might be better than fanatics. . . He watched socialists and facists in spain preach their moral superiority out of one side of their mouth while ordering atrocities out of the other.

A cold blooded, straight up "I love france, so I will kill any invaders on her soil, and any collaberators" would bother him morally, but not set him off. . .the "We are crushing the unions to ensure the safety of the proletariat" doubletalk would infuriate him. Fanatical patriots he has no problem with (though he might object to them as individuals), but idiological fanaticism he has an irrational distaste for. . .that make any sense?

So he would have real problems with the NKVD or the Gestapo. More the idiological enforcement arms of the various militaries. He would feel the same about McArthy at a later date I would assume.

I see the Intolerance of Germans only being about a 1 point quirk. He wouldn't have a lot to do with most native Germans, other then trying to kill them when the war breaks out. Unless this was extended to Americans of German heritage. Then that could be a problem.

As far as the other, I see that as a 5 point disadvantage. Odds are much better that he may have to deal with members of those groups, especially as an observer during the Civil War.

[CroakerDogBoy]

Interesting. It seems that overall Europe and America supported Franco by blockade, but their military observers got far more information, and there were far more volunteers on the Loyalist side. Most of the military observers were college educated, and the 10 that filed the most reports went on to high ranks.

Which side are you seeing your man observing, and is he strictly an impartial observer or does he tend to take a side? Is he college educated, west point grad, or is he an NCO that worked his way up?

[Celedor]

College educated, point grad. . .there were very few mustangs at this point. . .I'd need to have a specific specialty that made me invaluable. . .in which case I'd be a 2nd lt they never allowed out in the field, instead entrenched somewhere on a prooving range out west.

Call that a general distrust and dislilke of non english europeans and south americans. . .he's got no real opinion of asians or africans due to lack of exposure. (Typical of the period casual american racism toward non british europeans complete with stereotypes.)

Reflexive antipathy to Germans ("They're the enemy, duh.")

Exactly, he'd view the facists, soviets and the nazis as being crazy and dangerous. . . .we could even drop the german thing, as it would likely end up finding cover under the casual racism thing, the patriotism thing, and this one. . .no real reason left to single out the germans, since he's a patriot who hates the enemy, and a mild racist who distrusts forigners, and an anti-ideagogue who hates nazis.

[CroakerDogBoy]

The curiosity thing is more the observer in him. . ."Got to see the bomb hit to assess it" "Get down sir" "Got to see it hit" "GET DOWN SIR!"

the guy standing as the plane strafes the street, counting the number of guns per wing, rather than jumping into cover.

So he would be more trying to get all the details right. I would see that as a Compulsive Behavior(attention to detail). Depending on whether he merely insisted on it for himself and his reports or whether he expected the same from his men would give me the point value for it.

What about this one?

[Celedor]

I dunno, he's fearless when "observing" considering getting the info more important than taking cover. . .often resulting in his superiors giving orders to manhandle him to cover to whatever NCO is "babysitting" him. It's not like he doesn't realise it's dangerous, he just considers it his job to watch, even if he should be hiding.

Whatever flaw you feel fits, use it.

[CroakerDogBoy]

So it's more that he is compelled to observe himself for reporting. He doesn't require it of his men. He 'needs to see'. I get it. I am thinking of that as a Compulsive Behavior (Observation) -5.

That would leave 5 points left for disadvantages if you want em. And 4 points for quirks. Want to know some low point ones?

[CroakerDogBoy]

There's all sorts of mild 1 point ones like Dreamer, Dull, Distractable etc.

Light Sleeper, Overweight, Post Combat Shakes, Pyromania etc. Those are 5 point ones.

[Celedor]

Like any ordanence expert, he loves to watch things blow up, or to blow them up.